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Members of the Boise City Council are (back, L-R) council members TJ Thomson, Ben Quintana, Lauren McLean, Scot Ludwig (front, L-R) Council Pro Tem Elaine Clegg, Mayor David H. Bieter and Council President Maryanne Jordan.

The Mayor works full-time, managing the day-to-day operations of the City and providing leadership and policy direction to the City Council. The Mayor chairs all meetings of the City Council, voting only in the case of a tie. The six members of the City Council work part-time, holding budget and policy-setting authority for the city. The Mayor and City Council members are elected at large by popular vote. City Council members are elected to a specific Council seat, but the seats are not determined geographically. City elections are held in odd number years (e.g. 2007, 2009, 2011).

About the Mayor

David H. Bieter was elected Mayor of Boise in 2003 on the promise of making it the most livable city in the country. With his re-election in 2007 and again in 2011, Bieter continues to deliver on that pledge with new neighborhood libraries and parks, a strong economic development program and a commitment to environmental protection and sustainability.

Born and raised in Boise, Bieter is a graduate of Bishop Kelly High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in International Studies at The College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., before completing his Juris Doctorate at University of Idaho College of Law. He gained expertise in municipal issues as civil counsel to Bonner County in Sandpoint, as civil prosecutor and land-use specialist in the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, and later as a private attorney. He was chosen to assume his father’s seat in the Idaho House of Representatives after both of his parents, Pat and Eloise Bieter, were killed in an automobile accident in 1999. Voters elected him to full terms in the House in 2000 and again in 2002.

As mayor, Bieter created the first municipal ethics commission in Idaho. He succeeded in funding three new neighborhood libraries with no tax increase and oversaw the addition of hundreds of acres of parkland and Foothills open space. Bieter led the county-wideBlueprint for Good Growth and was the first mayor in Idaho to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, committing Boise to reduce greenhouse emissions.

In the fall of 2014, the Mayor Bieter led a successful voter campaign for a $17 million public safety bond proposal to build a new firefighter training facility and upgrade or replace four aging fire stations. The proposal was overwhelmingly approved with 76 percent of the vote, ensuring firefighters have the right tools in the right places to keep Boise safe and making it the first City of Boise bond issue to gain approval more than 50 years. With bond proceeds paying for essential public safety facilities, other capital investment resources were freed up allowing the Mayor and City Council to approve a series of other resident-focused projects, including a new branch library at Bown Crossing.

Bieter is fluent in Basque and Spanish, and has been involved extensively in Boise’s Basque community. In 2005, Basque President Juan Jose Ibarretxe presented Bieter with the Sabino Arana “Basques Throughout the World” Award for his work on behalf of Basque peace and self-determination.

Bieter has been married to his wife, Julia, since 1998. They have a daughter, Josie, born in 2005.